America’s urban schools are taking a negligent approach to teacher retention; many rarely make a strong effort to keep “Irreplaceables,” teachers so successful at advancing student learning that they are nearly impossible to replace, or usher unsuccessful teachers out. As a result, the best and worst teachers leave urban schools at strikingly similar rates.

The Irreplaceables spans four urban school districts encompassing 90,000 teachers, 2,100 schools and 1.4 million students to focus on the experiences of exceptional teachers. From the data we analyzed from these districts, we found three main causes for the destructive retention patterns we saw in schools.

Poor school cultures and working conditions drive away great teachers.

Policies give principals and district leaders few incentives to change their ways.

To combat the real retention crisis and create the profession that teachers deserve, we offer two major recommendations for education leaders: make retention of Irreplaceables a top priority, and strengthen the teaching profession with higher expectations.

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